English 302: Sciences

Library Research Strategies & Sources

The Basics

• Fenwick Library: Virtual Tour
• Basics of Library Research
• Library Research Basics Online: WebCT Course (username = library password = basics)

What's your timeframe for this project?

• Assignment Calculator

Define Your Topic

• How to Narrow/Broaden a Topic

Think: What type of sources do you need for your topic?

• Primary, secondary and tertiary sources

Find: Background sources on your topic

• Reference Universe
• Biological Sciences (Oxford)
• Encyclopedia of Life Sciences
  • Faculty of 1000 Biology
• Computing Sources (Oxford)
• Earth & Environmental Sciences
• Health Reference Center Academic (Gale)
• Physical Sciences & Mathematics (Oxford)
  • CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics
  • Encyclopedia of Astronomy & Astrophysics
• Science (Oxford)

Find: Books

• Browse Library of Congress Call Number Areas: Q, R, S, T
• How to read a call number
• How to find a book
• Item not at your Mason campus library? Try another library

Find: Articles

• E-Journal Finder
• Choose indexes and formats best suited to your topic
  • Basic Databases (ProQuest, Expanded Academic, etc.)
  • Biology Databases
  • Chemistry Databases
  • Information Technology and Computer Science
• What's the difference between a scholarly (research) journal and a popular magazine?
• Ask a librarian which database and format will be best for you
• Find the periodical articles
• Item not at your Mason campus library? Try another library

Think: Use Internet sources wisely

• Web is not indexed; sheer volume can overwhelm you
• Evaluating web sources

Think: Evaluate what you find

• Evaluating bibliographic citations
• Evaluating content from bibliographic citations
• Evaluating web sources

Cite: Give credit where credit is due

• Plagiarism is knowingly representing the work of others as your own
• The Fraud of Plagiarism (Tutorial)
• Mason Honor Code
• Use a style manual to cite your sources in a standard format